People who need People
by evil-wiatch
Summary: Rachel fights with her parents and comes to see Puck, who then takes it in his own hands to try adn right the sitaution. Established relationship, just a fluffy one shot.


AN : I do not own anything that is made referance to in this story. Glee or any thing else is owned by their respective companies. I am but a simple fan.

On another note, I know everyone hates these and so I've included it in my story and not as a request, I read this story and I can't remember if it was on here or not, where Rachel is flunking PE and Puck teaches her how to play baseball. It's very sweet. If anyone knows which story this is I'd be grateful but if not I will simply live with the memory. Thank you.

Oh and enjoy. It's not very good but hopefully someone somewhere will like it. Bye x

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><p>The last thing Puck expected as he sat down with a beer to watch the Saturday night college football was to hear a soft knock on the door. The main reason for this being the heavy rain that had been falling since the afternoon and showed no sign of stopping, the other being he'd told his friends he was going away with his mother and sister in order to get a peaceful weekend to himself. The only person who knew about his plan was Rachel, and with this thought in mind he shot up from the couch and opened the door. Sure enough, leaning against door frame was no other than Rachel Berry herself, looking very sad and very wet. ]<p>

Puck grabbed her arm and pulled her in to the house, taking her bags and putting them on the staircase, he pulled her in to the living room and took in her appearance. She was wearing his McKinley sweatshirt with some yoga pants and some cowboy boots he'd bought her at the state fair in the summer. Her hair was sticking to her face and she was completely soaked. But the most troubling aspect was her distant look, and the glassy look of her eyes. They were red, slightly puffy meaning she'd been crying, and the way her brow furrowed meant now she was with him she would probably start up again pretty soon. He sat her down on the comfy arm chair and ran upstairs, grabbing two towels and a comb he went back downstairs and pulled her up from the chair. He sat down and then moved her between his legs so he could start drying her. He removed her jumper and pants and wrapped her in the first towel, moving her so she was sat on the floor between his legs he started to towel off her hair. As he did this he could hear the small sniffles coming from the girl in front of him but ignored them, she wouldn't want him to make a big deal. She would tell him what happened in her own time. Once her hair was dry he again pulled her up and keeping her hand in his took her to the laundry room where he knew his mother had just washed some of his sweats from practice this week. They were huge on her but at least they were warm.

As they made their way in to the kitchen to make her some tea, he finally decided to ask.

"Baby," he said softly while standing close to her, she looked up at him finally, "What happened? You said you couldn't come over tonight."

She looked away and took a deep breathe, trying to hold back the fresh burst of tears threatening to spill, "I had a fight with my Dads and I didn't want to go anywhere else" she got out finally.

"That's ok," he reassured her, rubbing her arms to make sure she was warm enough, "what was it about? The fight?"

She turned away and shook her head, which was his queue to make her tea and shut the hell up.

"Here's your tea." he said as he placed the mug in front of her. She smiled slightly and said a hushed thankyou.

He stood from a minute watching her before he took her hand again and started pulling her back towards the living room, "Come on. There's a game on."

He sat down on the sofa and pulled her next to him. He grabbed one of the pillows and put it in his lap for her to rest her head on as she lead down. After a few minutes of silence she finally spoke up. "I hate football."

He laughed to himself, "I know you hate football." He looked down to meet her stern gaze.

"Then why are we watching it?" She asked as she poked him in the stomach.

"Hey!" He said through his laughter and grabbed her hand, kissing her palm before releasing it. "We're watching it _because_ I was watching it when you arrived, plus it's college football, it's a whole different game to the football we play."

She tutted and rolled her eyes, "I don't care. I don't like it. It's violent and scary." She stuck her bottom lip out and he knew that was it. Stubborn didn't even begin to describe Rachel sometimes. She wouldn't shut up until he'd turned it off so he had to build the bridge and get over it. Goodbye college football. It was nice to see you, even for such a brief time.

As he grabbed the remote to change the channel her phone went off in her pocket and when she saw the screen she turned it off and stuck it between the cushions of the couch. The sad look had returned to her face and it didn't look like it would be going anywhere soon. He ran his fingers through her hair slowly and tried to approach the subject again.

"So are you going to tell me what happened? It has to be something big if you're here."

She rolled over so her face was against his stomach and he felt her take a deep breathe. Her arms came up to his shirt and started playing with the hem.

"Baby talk to me, it can't be all that bad. And look, I'm here to support you. No matter what. Even if they've told you you need to shave your head or something else equally as weird. Ok? So just tell me."

She looked up at him and he could see the tears in her eyes. She sat up quickly, and sat next to him, legs draped across his. He placed his hand over her knees, clutching his beer in the other. She looked over at it before asking, "Can I have some of that?"

Now it was a well kept secret that Rachel Berry had a bit of a liking for beer, and yes it was his fault, she'd told him many times, but you just can't watch football without beer (which was the same reasoning he gave her the first time he offered her a beer). He nodded his head, "Sure." as he passed her the bottle.

She took a long swig and then handed the bottle back to him, nodding her head slightly before starting her story.

"I got something today, something important, and it was supposed to be such a great day but then they...they said some terrible things and – and I just couldn't be there any more."

He slowly nodded as he listening, "So what did you get?" The smile that broke out on her face was a relief from the tears from earlier.

"I got my letter from Julliard. I got in." She bit her lip before smiling at him again.

"Baby that's amazing!" His shocked face turning to a smile, before she was laughing as he grabbed her arm and pulled her in to a kiss. "You got in?" He asked and she laughed, nodding urgently.

"Yes, yes I got in. I'm going to New York. I'm going to college in New York." He slowly ran his fingers over her cheek as a small smile once again fell on her face.

"I'm so proud of you." He all but whispered before kissing her again. Then an annoyed look crossed his face, "But wait. If you got in then why did you fight?"

She looked away for a second before meeting his eyes again, "They said it was a waste to give me a place because I was just going to end up stuck in this town. They said you were a dead beat who was unlikely to get in to community college, let alone NYU and that I was so blind that I'd stay with you in this town and waste my potential. They said I should cut my losses while I still could and leave you behind." He was angry now and he knew she could tell, the way she started rubbing nonsensical patterns on his arm told him that much, "So I told them they had no right to judge you when all you've ever done is support me and you've worked so hard to get in to college. Then I said you would never make me choose between you and college, like they were doing and then I grabbed my bag and left. I don't want to go back there."

He pulled her towards him again, this time in to a hug. Her arms wound around his middle as he kissed the top of her head before saying "I'm sorry baby" in to her hair.

"It's ok." She muttered, "I don't really want to talk about it any more though."

As she pulled back he smiled down at her before pecking her on the lips. He then proceeded to move her legs and move from the couch.

"Where are you going?" she questioned his back as he walked towards the stairs. He could see her peering at him over the top of the couch as he made his way up the stairs, shouting down when he'd reached the top, "I got something for you. And I'm glad it came today because this is the perfect time to use it."

"Oh my god! Please tell me it's not something dirty!" She shouted back to him, making him bark out a laugh as he made his way back down to her.

"No Princess it's not something dirty." He said as he made his way across to her, "But it is something you enjoy as much as sex." He handed her a cardboard package. She broke in to it and then gasped, bringing a hand up to her heart.

"You bought Funny Girl." She looked up at him as he got comfortable in his previous position. He simply shrugged and rested his arm on the back of the couch.

"Yeah I figured it was a good investment, then you don't lose your copy when we're in New York coming to my place or whatever."

She smiled at him before the final comment caused a look of shock to cross her face.

"You got in?" She asked, and when he nodded she squealed before throwing herself in to his lap and kissing him. She pulled back and exclaimed, "You got in!" before leaning in and kissing him again.

He chuckled, "Yes baby I got in. Now we're both going to be in the _Big Apple"_, she smirked at his impression of a New York accent, "and we can prove your Daddy's wrong."

Her face dropped as she scooted back in to her original position, "I don't want to prove them wrong Noah, I want them to support my choice to be with you."

"I know. I know you do." He took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over the knuckles before bringing it up to his mouth.

She smiled at him in return, before bringing the DVD box up over her mouth. "So can we watch this now?" she pressed, before squealing after he rolled his eyes and nodded. "Go put it on!" She pushed at his arms until he got up and took the DVD over to the TV.

She laughed to herself as he bent down and put the DVD in the player, he turned to look at her which made her laugh more. "What is wrong with you?" He asked while laughing with her.

"We're both going to New York BABY!" She shouted as she threw her hands up in the air. "NEW YORK!" They both broke out in a fit of laughter as Puck moved back across the room towards her.

He leant down so he could move the hair from her face, "New York baby." He kissed her, and then sat back down and arranged the cushions behind him so he was comfy. Rachel moved her head back in to his lap to watch the film and his fingers instinctively ran their way down through her hair and along her forearm that was cradled across her stomach. Her other hand was once again drawing little patterns on the part of his thigh that was visible next to her cushion.

As the movie played out, Puck couldn't help but think over all she'd said earlier. The way her Dads had reacted to her acceptance in to college and their obvious opinion of him and his life. He decided that he would make them change their minds about this, if it was the last thing he did. She meant so much to him, and the idea of being with her in New York and watching her finally fit in to place was more than he thought he deserved, but he'd be there to support her until she told him not to be. That was his choice and he would never regret it.

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><p>Puck had just dropped Rachel off at her Sunday dance lesson and he knew it was now or never. She had already told him their plans for the rest of the day, but hell to the no was he going to the JCC bake sale with her so those plans would definitely change. Either way this was his only chance in the day to try and talk to her Dads without her knowing. He pulled up in to their drive way and thought through how he would go about this, they'd never out right told him they had a problem with him but after last nights revelations who knows what kind of welcome he'd receive.<p>

He approached the door and knocked three times, before turning around to wave at Rachel's neighbour who was always asking him to do odd jobs when he was over. He didn't mind, the woman was hilarious, and Rachel liked to look through her old photos so he mostly did it for her. She could probably give him a good character reference in the future as well, not that he'd need it, but you never know these things.

After a few minutes Rachel's Dad, Michael opened the door. "Oh Noah, it's you. As you probably know Rachel isn't here so..."

"I came to talk to you actually," he interrupted before the door was closed on him, "and your husband if that's possible."

Michael shot him a questioning look before moving to the side and motioning for Puck to walk in. He followed Michael in to the kitchen where the other Mr Berry, Hiram, was making what looked like pasta but Puck couldn't be sure. They ate some really weird food in this house.

"Honey, Noah is here to talk to us." Michael said to his husband, as he sat down at the island in the middle of their kitchen. Hiram turned and Puck waved sheepishly, "Hi Mr Berry."

Hiram nodded an acknowledgement before turning back to his dish on the stove.

Puck sat down awkwardly at the island and looked across at Michael.

"Look," he started, gaining a eyebrow raise from Michael, "Sir. I know you don't like me, or don't like me for Rach or whatever this is that we've found ourselves in, but you have to know that I love your daughter. A lot. And I know you're think I'm a good for nothing who is perfectly content to live in this town and become his parents, but I'm not. I have dreams of my own and it's because of that that I would never expect Rachel to jeopardise her own dreams for mine." He cleared his throat nervously, having caught both of the Berry men's attention now. "What I'm trying to say is that I have bigger ideas than living in Lima and becoming my father, I want to make something of myself. I want to leave this town and it's judgement behind. I want to be somebody my mother and maybe even you could be and will be proud of." He was going to have a short interlude but the look on the faces of these two men made him think against it, best get it over and done with all at once.

"Rachel is everything to me, and I want to make her happy. I got in to NYU and I'm going to go and I want to be with your daughter. But what I don't want is to be the reason you don't talk any more, or aren't the way you are now. This isn't a choice, it's a compromise. You can accept that I'm in Rachel's life for as long as she wants me to be, and I'm hoping that's a long term deal, and I accept that you don't think I'm good enough for her and believe me, I think that most of the time. Rachel is the first girl I've ever seen a future with, I can picture us when we're 30 or 40 or 80, and that's new and scary but in the best way. And I guess what I'm saying is please don't make her choose between me and you because that would kill something in her and I don't think I could stand it, and I don't think you could either."

The two men were watching him intently as he made his speech, and the silence that followed his ending comment was louder than a freight train. But eventually Michael spoke up.

"So you got in to NYU?" Puck nodded. "That's an achievement, congratulations."

Hiram smiled slightly at Puck, a contrast to his earlier demeanour. "Well done Noah. Rachel said you would do it. They're...um, lucky to have you."

Puck snickered slightly at the awkwardness but then regained composure, "Thankyou Sir."

Michael leant forward towards Puck, "So you think you and Rachel can last hmm? You think New York won't put a wedge between you? Her and her big dreams and you and...whatever you'll be doing?" Ah, the interrogation part of today's drama. You've finally appeared.

"Well none of us really know the answer to that do we? All we can do is hope that this makes our relationship stronger, and if not then at least we gave it a go. What more could you ask for?"

Michael Berry was obviously not convinced, but Puck looked over at Hiram, the softer of the two and could tell he was itching to get involved. He'd probably been advised by his husband to try and remain apathetic towards Puck but it was so not working.

"Mr Berry, can I be straight with you?" Michael nodded, "Did you parents think you two getting together was a good idea? Were they supportive of you?"

Michael's face was poker, but his eyes betrayed him, "No. They didn't. They thought we were getting in over our heads."

Puck nodded, "Ok. So you know how much it hurts when your parents don't trust your judgement, don't trust you can make decisions for yourself and face the consequences no matter what. I came over here today not for me, but for Rachel. I'm not asking that you accept me as an individual, but I'm asking you at least try to accept Noah, Rachel's Jewish boyfriend who is also going to college in New York and would really like to be a long term feature in her life. Please. I know it's a lot but I can't think of any way to get past this without someone getting hurt and we all know it won't any body in this room."

Hiram came and stood behind his husband, clutching a tea towel in one hand and rubbing his partner's shoulder with the other. "Thankyou for coming to talk with us Noah. I can tell you have Rachel's best interest at heart." Puck simply smiled and nodded before standing.

"I should probably go and urm, wait for Rachel so...Thanks for hearing me out I guess."

He turned to leave but Michael's voice stopped him, "Is she ok?"

He turned and looked at both men, "She was upset but she's ok. I'll work on her. She'll be home soon."

And with that he left the house, jumped in his truck and headed towards 7-11 for two grape slushies and a 6 pack for later. All he could do was hope that his words had got through the Berry men and that they would try to accept him in Rachel's life in whatever way they saw fit. It wasn't a perfect situation, but if it got them both to New York with minimum hassle then he was all for it. Either way, he was planning on having the rest of his life to convince them. He and Rachel were a long-term package, he could tell, and he would one day convince those two men that he wasn't his father, and maybe convince himself a bit along the way too.


End file.
